1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an acidic cleaning composition having an excellent cleaning effect and which is low in toxicity and skin irritating effect.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Dirt, soils and stains on various surfaces in dwellings, clothes, tableware, human bodies and the like are ordinarily removed by neutral or alkaline cleaners or detergents. For some types of soils, ammonia, caustic alkali, and organic solvents such as petroleum solvents, chlorinated hydrocarbons, grime solvents, alcohols, ethers and ketones are also often employed.
However, there are special soils or stains that are difficult or impossible to remove by the foregoing cleaners, detergents or chemicals. As examples of such special soils and stains, there can be mentioned stains on toilet bowls, urinals, bath tubs and the like, stains of juices or tannins and the like from plants or vegetables, stains of alcoholic drinks, rusts of metals such as iron, spots of chemicals such as mercurochrome and tincture of iodine, ink spots, soils on bathtubs or washing pails, and the like. Acidic substances or cleaners containing acidic substances are sometimes effective for removing these special soils and stains. As acid substances heretofore commonly used for this purpose, there can be mentioned inorganic acidic substances such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, nitric acid, sodium bisulfate and potassium bisulfate, and organic acids such as sulfamic acid, oxalic acid and acetic acid. These acidic substances have an excellent soil-removing ability, but each of them is irritating to the skin and has significant toxicity and/or smell. Therefore, they cannot always be used with safety. Especially, oxalic acid, which is effective as a spot remover or rust remover and which exhibits an excellent effect as a toilet bowl cleaner when used in combination with hydrochloric acid, has a very high toxicity and a high skin-penetrating property, and therefore, handling or use of compositions containing oxalic acid requires considerable care.
It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide an acidic cleaning composition in which the disadvantages of conventional acidic cleaners are greatly reduced, and which can be used with increased safety because of its reduced toxicity and skin-irritating property and which exhibits an excellent cleaning ability.